Federal Newscast

Federal HR employees get guidance on data use in recruitment efforts

In today's Federal Newscast: Federal human resources employees get some guidance on how to effectively use data in recruitment. The leading federal cyber agenci...

Peter Musurlian@PMusurlianWFED

November 4, 2022 9:39 am

4 min read

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Federal human resources employees have been given some guidance on how to use more data in their recruiting strategies. The Office of Personnel Management’s new Workforce Planning Guide compiled resources to help HR specialists look at more information on their workforce. That includes external data like the Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey and FedScope, as well as internal data like exit interviews. HR specialists also got an action plan designed to help with position classification, recruiting and hiring strategies. OPM encouraged the employees to also reference their sample checklists when making HR changes.

The Senior Executives Association is calling for major reforms to the 70-year-old federal compensation system. SEA leaders said a pay cap for senior-level feds discourages many employees from advancing into federal leadership positions. The advocacy group is urging the Federal Salary Council to conduct a study on the effects of pay compression, adding that data on attrition and retention could show how much feds are actually impacted by the salary cap. (Advocacy groups raise concerns about federal pay system amid growing wage gap – Federal News Network)

Relief is coming for federal contractors flummoxed by the number of governmentwide acquisition contracts they feel they have got to bid on. Sonny Hashmi is commissioner of the Federal Acquisition Service at the General Services Administration. He said his goal is half a dozen of what he calls “purpose-built GWACs,” down from more than a dozen now. But don’t cut back your bid-and-capture staff just yet. Speaking at a conference organized by the contractor services company TechnoMile, Hashmi said the reduction will take at least five years.

The Army’s Criminal Investigation Division said it’s working to correct the records of National Guard and Reserve soldiers wrongly swept up in a recruiting bonus scandal. Between 2012 and 2016, the Army CID opened up about 900 cases after complaints of Guard and Reserve soldiers fraudulently collecting bonuses. Now they’re fixing any mistakes, after admitting that agents may have misunderstood facts or failed to follow proper procedures, resulting in soldiers’ names being added erroneously to an FBI crime database. (Army probes whether troops wrongly targeted in bonus scandal – Federal News Network)

Federal employees have a chance to see their best ideas for improved public service turned into reality. The General Services Administration’s 10X program is soliciting technology ideas from employees governmentwide in an effort to crowd source innovation. Promising ideas go through a four-step process to determine viability. A team of experts studies them at each stage. But not many ideas make it through the process. This year, the 10x program reports evaluating 171 ideas. Of those, 25 made it to phase one, and only seven ideas are expected to move forward to phase two.

The Federal Communications Commission joins the 21st century space race. The FCC is launching a Space Bureau. Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said it will help grow the FCC’s technical capacity for addressing satellite policies and improve its coordination with other agencies on emerging space issues. The commission today faces more than 64,000 applications for new satellites. And Rosenworcel said the FCC is seeing more applications for novel space activities, like lunar landers and space-based antenna farms for relaying communications.

A new policy is out for how GSA contracting officers can talk to their managers. The General Services Administration has rescinded an eight-year-old policy that was a reaction to an inspector general’s report. Senior Procurement Executive Jeff Koses signed a new memo explaining when and how managers can get involved in procurements. GSA outlines 11 areas where managers can help ensure an acquisition is meeting the goals of the agency customer. It also details three ways where management intervention would be inappropriate. GSA issued the 2014 memo after the IG expressed concerns about improper management interference on decisions by contracting officers under the schedules program. Koses said that initial memo has been misunderstood as limiting management discretion in assigning, monitoring, and/or reviewing contracts or contracting actions.

Agencies have proposed more than 650 questions in their collective learning agendas. New data released by the Office of Management and Budget showed that a majority of the questions focus on bringing equity to federal programs, services and agencies. The President’s Management Agenda — specifically around customer experience — and housing were questions that came up often as well. OMB published its learning agenda dashboard, detailing both governmentwide and agency-specific views as part of its effort to promote evidence-based problem solving.

Leading cyber agencies are calling on software vendors to pay close attention to the security and integrity of the code they’re selling. The Enduring Security Framework group (ESF) released its latest software security guidance this week. The ESF includes the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, the National Security Agency, and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. They said vendors are a critical link between software developers and the customers who use their products, including federal agencies.